The present invention relates to droplet-on-demand ink jet printing systems, and more particularly to replaceable ink supplies for multicolor ink jet printers which have a quick disconnect valve that enables insertion and removal in the printer without loss of ink thereby preventing printer contamination.
Current ink jet products have ink tanks with ink volumes less than 25 ml. As the ink jet market moves towards larger monthly print volumes and faster speeds, a high capacity, `off-carriage` ink tank is necessitated. Such a high capacity ink tank cannot afford to provide added volume for foams and felt which carry ink as many of the current products do. These foams and felts also provide means to keep the installation and replacement of spent cartridges from leaking ink and causing contamination of the printers or soiling the hands of the user. This lack of ink leakage or spillage during the handling of the cartridges is sometimes referred to as a `white glove` insertion and removal operation and of course is very desirable.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,159,348 discloses an ink jet printer having a printhead assembly comprising a printhead and ink reservoir mounted on a scanning carriage for movement across a recording medium with an off carriage ink supply in the form of a flexible bag to replenish the ink used from the ink reservoir. Supply lines interconnect the ink supply with the ink reservoir. A pump is provided in the supply line for activation only during a priming operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,138,332 discloses an ink jet printer assembly comprising a printhead and ink reservoir mounted on a scanning carriage for movement across a recording medium. An off carriage ink supply bag is connected to the ink reservoir by tubing. The reservoir is arranged so that pressure applied to the ink supply bag forces ink into the reservoir and any air in the reservoir is expelled through the printhead nozzles, thereby priming both the printhead and the reservoir without the need for a vent in the reservoir.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,519,425 discloses an ink jet cartridge mounted on a scanning carriage for movement across a recording medium. The cartridge includes a printhead which is integrally fixed to an ink reservoir containing the typical absorbent material to hold the ink. One purpose of the absorbent material is to prevent sloshing of the ink in the reservoir during the back and forth scanning of the of the cartridge. This cartridge has a film member which completes the passageway between the reservoir and the printhead and concurrently provides the fluid seal between them and the means to adhere the printhead to the reservoir.
Most known ball valve connectors use a fitment with external threads which houses the ball and spring and a separate elastomeric washer as a valve seat. The ball valve connector uses a screw on cap with a centrally located aperture to fasten the connector together. The spring urges the ball against the washer to seal the cap aperture as illustrated in FIG. 1, discussed later, such as currently used in the fuser oil supply of the Xerox 4900 laser printer. A fixed probe in the 4900 machine moves the ball away from the elastomeric washer to enable fuser oil to be removed from the oil supply tank.
Other ink jet products utilize a flexible ink supply pouch with a sealed fitment, but the interconnection is by needle and septum and not by a spring loaded ball quick disconnect valve wherein the entire valve is sealed into the flexible pouch.